DVB102 | WEEK 5

IMAGES 16-20

#ONPERDAY2020

This week we focused on colour and its application in designing creative portraits. ​​​​​​​

110 gsm Paper, 2H Pencil, Acrylic Paint (red, blue, white, orange, black), Paint Brushes, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Color, Adobe Photoshop

I first began by printing out my portrait I had used the colour trace tool in Adobe Illustrator on to colour block, placed this behind some art paper up against a window and traced the outlines of each block of colour. From there I began mixing acrylic paints in my monochromatic pink/purple colour palette I created in Adobe Color, before giving each colour corresponding blocks in the traced drawing with swatches. The darker shades (purple, darker pink) were used to paint the outer sections and lighter shade (light pinks) were used for the inside face highlights. One the painting was completed, I used photoshop only slightly to enhance the colours and whiten the paper for a more optimal final image.

Going into this first painting I was quite daunted and hesitant as I haven't painted for a couple of years, however I found it surprisingly really enjoyable and relaxing. I definitely think this first portrait is my favourite of the lot as the pink monochromatic colour palette really came together well with the acrylic paints and created the feminine, girly vibe I was after. The image worked great for colour blocking as it can be seen all the facial features are clearly defined with the use of different monochromatic shades. Using different sized paint brushes was really helpful for detail around the eyes, nose and mouth, where the smaller brushes achieved a smoother finish. Overall, I found this cool to create and super interesting how just using five different colours was effective in achieving a portrait where my friends could immediately recognise it was me. Retrospectively, I would probably slightly darken the lighter purple colour to create more of a contrast between it and the bright red to make them more distinct from one another.

110 gsm Paper, A4 Coloured Paper (purple, magenta, red, orange, yellow), Glue Stick, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Color, Adobe Photoshop

I first began by tearing my different coloured paper into smaller pieces before using my printed out Illustrator traced image as a guide to start collaging the paper and pasting it down with glue with the darkest shade starting from the outside. I overlapped all the paper to ensure there was no white space, and once finished slightly enhanced the colours and whitened the paper in Photoshop.  

I found creating this portrait really enjoyable and nostalgic as it reminded me of being back in primary school creating collages in art class. By tearing the paper in small pieces before pasting instead of tracing, cutting out and pasting it, really created an abstract sort of image with a rough and layered texture. The colour palette demonstrated in the portrait is more analogous than the first portrait due to the five different coloured paper being the only kind I could immediately source, however I think it worked well and also is consistent with the pink/purple tones from the acrylic portrait. The bright yellow is desirable in emphasising the highlighted parts of the portrait and due to its strong contrast from the four other colours. I'm not sure if it just because of the photograph, but perhaps the magenta and red would be swapped if done again as the red seems very deep in the image.

Play-doh (purple, pink, orange), Tweezers, Table, Adobe Photoshop

Creating this portrait involved firstly moulding my different coloured play-doh into small rocks of varying sizes. Then I used my colour traced image as a guide and on my dining table began from the outside (purple) in (orange) placing the small rocks like mosaics to construct the colour block portrait. For the smaller rocks, I used tweezers to assist my in placing them in noticeable white-space gaps without damaging the shape already in place. Once completed, I took a photograph which I edited in Photoshop to enhance the colours a bit more and lighten the white background.

Again, creating the portrait was super fun as I hadn't touched play-doh in years, and the ease of ability to mould them into rocks and adjust the sizes worked well with the formation of the colour portrait. The play-doh I already had at home and was definitely by coincidence that the colours where consistent with my previous portraits, however I only had the three - purple, pink, and orange - but utilised the white of the table for the highlights on my top. The colour palette was again analogous, but more of the neon kind which created a really 80's sort of edgy, fun vibe. 

Beetroot crackers, Barbecue crackers, rice cakes, carrot shavings, Gloves, Table, Adobe Photoshop

I went out and bought a variety of crackers of different shades before coming home and experimenting with which shades were going to work best with my theme of colour palette throughout my portrait series. I then began playing around with collaging and layering from the outside edges in working darkest to lightest - beetroot flavour, barbecue flavour, rice cakes then carrot for the facial features. Once completed, I brightened the colours up slightly in Photoshop and heightened the levels of the white background.

Using different coloured crackers was pretty interesting and fun for forming colour formations, but definitely a lot hard for achieving precise shaping to the roundness of them, hence the halving in some spots. The crackers made for a strong abstract effect as can be seen, but this was desired as I really wanted to push the limits and see how far I could go with experimenting with colour. The layering did create some undesired shadows though, however the texture of the crackers created some cool patterns that demonstrated the shading of the face pretty well. The colour palette again was consistent with the reds from the previous portraits, however more of a shaded/monochromatic kind and less analogous than the previous two. If I was going to create it again, I would try and get a darker coloured cracker than the barbecue flavour to get more accentuation and shadows in around the face.

Chocolate liquorice, Raspberry lollies, Barley sugars, Party mix lollies, Gloves, Table, Adobe Photoshop

I sourced out all the lollies hiding in my house, before playing around with some of the different colour palettes I could use with what I had. I then constructed my portrait using the colour palette I had chosen, before taking the final image and slightly brightening it up in Photoshop.

My last portrait was probably the most fun due to the sweets involved, but definitely turned out the most abstract and probably weakest in terms of colour palette. For deciding which colours of lollies to use, I again kept consistent with my previous colour palettes and utilised the analogous (purple, red, orange) palette, however I intentionally was less strict with the placement, hence the variety of lollies in the face, but instead focused on using coloured lollies that suited the shape of the face. I found it pretty difficult assembling them together in place due to the huge vary in shape from lollie to lollie, but in the end I am happy with how the final abstract product turned out as a result of really diving into the experimental aspect of colour.